The Buddha's Path of Virtue Part 4

Tho' month after month with the blade of a sword-gra.s.s[1]

The fool eats his rice grain by grain, Not one fourth of a quarter of good doth he gain Such as those who are stablished in Dhamma obtain.

71.

Now an ill deed, like milk, doth not change into curds, But it burneth the fool--a live coal 'neath the ashes.

72.

Since his knowledge is born to a fool all in vain, His good luck is lost to him wholly; On his own head it falls; he is crushed by his folly.

73-4.

If a fool long for credit that is not his due, Chief seats in the monks' hall,[2] respect from the Order, And wors.h.i.+p from laymen desiring; "Let the monks and the laymen my deeds hold in honour And in all things obey me, whate'er I may will--"

If such be the thoughts of the fool, His pride and his longing increase in him still.

75.

"Success here is one thing, Nibbana another:"

When a monk, the Buddha's disciple, is sure Of this truth, he delights not in honour, eschews The ways of the world and lives a recluse.

[1] An ascetic way of eating, supposed to be meritorious.

[2] Cf. N.T. "chief seats in the synagogue."

CHAPTER SIX.

THE WISE.

76.

If thou see a man of wisdom, Like a guide to treasure-trove, Pointing out thy faults and failings, Follow him; such company Brings prosperity, not woe.

77.

He who gives advice and teaching, And restrains thy feet from wrong, By the righteous is beloved, But the wicked love him not.

78.

Have no fellows.h.i.+p with evil; Make no friends among the vile; Make the virtuous thy companions; Follow thou the Perfect Men.

79.

They who drink the Good Norm's nectar Live in bliss with tranquil mind; In the Norm by saints expounded Wise men ever take delight.

80.

Irrigators guide the waters, Fletchers straighten out the shaft, Carpenters unwarp the timber, But the wise subdue themselves.

81.

As the solid rock for ever Rests unshaken by the wind, Wise men rest unwavering, Troubled not by praise or blame.

82.

As a deep clear pool of water Lies unruffled by the wind, To the Good Norm listening Wise men reach tranquillity.

83.

When the good men go about, Sensual babble is not theirs; They, when touched by pain or pleasure, Show a calm untroubled face.

84.

Not for self and not for others Do they long for sons or wealth, Not for rule, nor by injustice Self-advancement to attain; Righteous, wise and just are they.

85.

Few are they among us mortals Who have reached the further sh.o.r.e Over yonder. But we others On this side fare up and down.

86.

They who hold fast to the teaching Of the Norm expounded well They shall reach the sh.o.r.e and pa.s.s The realm of Death so hard to cross.

87-8.

Giving up the state of darkness, Let the wise embrace the pure; Giving up home for the homeless Loneliness, where joys are rare, Let him long for bliss unbounded Casting all desire aside, Owning naught, and, firm in wisdom, Cleanse his heart from pa.s.sion's stain.

89.

They whose mind is rightly tempered In the Wisdom's seven ways,[1]

Who have left desire behind them, Void of clinging, they rejoicing Pa.s.sionless and all-resplendent, Even in this world are freed.[2]

[1] The seven limbs of the Bodhi are:--_Sati_, concentration; _Dhammavicaya_, examination of mental processes or of nature; _Viriya_, energy; _Piti_, zest; _Pa.s.saddhi_, calmness; _Samadhi_, mental balance; _U?ekha_, equanimity.

[2] _Parinibbuta_, let free from rebirth by having attained the state of _Nibbana_, "gone out."

CHAPTER SEVEN.

THE ARAHAT--THE WORTHY.

90.

He for whom life's journey's over, free from sorrow, free from pain Who has all the knots unfastened, suffering knows not again.

91.

Household life for them no joys hath; striving and intent in mind As the swan deserts the marshes, every home they leave behind.

92.

They who gather up no treasure, feeding on the food that's known,[1]

They who range in mind the Void, the unconditioned formless s.p.a.ce, As the bird's path in the ether, so their ways are hard to trace.

93.

They whose taints are all evanished, independent of support, They who range in mind the Void, the unconditioned, formless s.p.a.ce, As the bird's path in the ether, so their tracks are hard to trace.

94.

He whose senses now are tranquil, like a horse by trainer tamed (Pride struck off, the taints[2] evanished), to the very G.o.ds is famed.[3]

95.